My report: Letter to the editor

As a citizen of Odessa, I have always had an interest in Odessa’s medical delivery system. The reason for my interest is another story. In my conversations with other citizens, I have been asked to express concerns that we agree are important.

There has been much leadership change in the hospital administration, specifically, three CEOs in the past three years. Leadership demonstrated during the previous CEOs tenure was the most harmful to the health of the whole community. A lot of good hospital employees have left or were fired because of the in-different, non-concern and selfish behaviors of the previous CEO.

In my opinion, there are various concerns and issues that are still outstanding within Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center. I have attempted to address concerns and issues with the Hospital Board of Directors (BOD) during scheduled monthly meetings.

The BOD has imposed a time limit for Odessa citizens to express their thoughts, the limit is 5 minutes. It is understandable that 5 minutes is enough time to share thoughts when there are many citizens wanting to express themselves. At recent and several other BOD meetings I have been the only citizen to express concerns and have questions. I was allowed 5 minutes and was cut-off min-sentence. I feel that my concerns were legitimate and feel more time allowed was warranted, especially since I was the only person to speak.

Respectfully,

Mr. Lorus “Swede” Underberg